Songbird
by Alan Slingby
Summary: Henry nearly remembered this time but nearly wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to completely remember the date and to not let it be pushed out of his mind by all the other thoughts that rush in and out of his mind. He knows that Charlotte loves him dearly and he her but his forgetful demeanor hasn't made the path of romance smooth for either of them.


Henry could admit that he was forgetful. Ever since he was young he had been reminded of it every day by family and loved ones alike. It was always harmless things though: forgetting to leave his clothes out for the maid to collect them for the wash, meal times, wiping the soot and dirt from his face before bed, and such. Dates were the worst. Whether when it was in his school days and he had to remember important Clave and Council meetings that were turn points of history or just simple holidays like birthdays and Easter. The most recent forgotten was Charlotte's and his anniversary. He almost remembered it this year. A week before the date, he had written it down on top of the blueprints for the gift he was going to make for Charlotte but they got buried under his papers and blueprints for other projects that he scribbled down in the week leading to the date. He had started the base for it, but a revelation about how to fix part of the Sensor took over his thoughts and he instantly got to work on it, leaving the half completed box under some blankets with various other projects that came and fled from Henry's mind.

It was another night spent entirely in the Crypt with Henry tinkering away at the Phosphor, clicking away at the trigger after every tightening of a screw or after a new sketch of a rune on the inside. At long last he broke out in a grin, the witchlight lantern glowing brighter than ever for a long minute before fading out slowly and the Phosphor stayed intact when the light dimmed. "Lottie! Oh Lottie I've done it!" he shouted, gripping the Phosphor tightly in his hand before heading up the stairs to the main level of the Institute and barged through the door. He quickly shielded his eyes from the bright witchlight. Was it already morning? The thought only crossed his mind for a second before his eyes adjusted to the brightly lit corridor and ran for the dining hall. Surely the others were still at breakfast. Reaching the great doors of the dining hall, Henry threw them open. "Lottie! The Phosphor! I've got it! It worked!"

"Splendid Henry. Though as stunningly charming as I am, I am not your wife." Will Herondale sat alone at the grand oak table with only a plate of tarts and a cup of tea set in front of him. "You missed breakfast."

"Oh." Henry looked down at the black tube in his hand then back up to Will curiously. "What are you still doing here then? I would figure you would be training with Jem if it's truly after breakfast."

Will waved his hand at Henry, smiling. "Agatha said she didn't want these tarts to go to waste so I figured I would do my duty as a seventeen year old Shadowhunter and ease her concerns. Jem will wait for me. Now I'm assuming you are looking for Charlotte."

"What gave you that idea?" he asked curiously, head tilting to the side as he stared at the plate of tarts, stomach grumbling. The last meal he ate was supper the night before.

"You burst in here calling for her."

"That... I did. Do you know where she went after breakfast? I have made a breakthrough and wish to show her." He stepped over to the table and grabbed a tart from the plate and stuffed it into his mouth, delighted by the sweet cherry jam.

Will 'tsked' but didn't bark more than that. "Her study to get work done though she looked troubled and I assume it's from you not showing to breakfast. Don't tell me you spent all night in the Crypt."

Henry looked down bashful and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand that had become sticky from the jam that spilled onto it. "I- that is... had lost track of the time."

"Do you even keep a clock in there or a pocket watch with you?"

He looked up with wide eyes and a determined look on his face. "Of course I do!" He paused and blinked slowly. "Though... I believe the clock in the Crypt has stopped working as it's been more silent done there than normal. As for my pocket watch I seldom remember that it's on me and when I do use it, it's more for tracking minutes or seconds than time keeping."

Will looked ready to hit himself in the face. "Never the less..." he said slowly. "I suggest you hurry or-"

"Or I'll miss her!" Henry finished though the expression on Will's said that he didn't finish the statement correctly. Despite that, Henry grabbed a second tart from the plate and turned to leave though paused in the doorway. He turned his head back to look over his shoulder at Will. "I have the strangest feeling that I needed to ask young Jem something. Have you any idea why that could be?"

Will shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what goes on in that head of yours Henry. I'm sure it will come to you. Now get Charlotte before you forget why you're wondering in the hallways again."

Henry nodded, having had stuffed the second tart in his mouth. He closed the door to the dining hall and went up to the next floor where Charlotte spent most of her time. After wiping some crumbs from his face and smeared some jam across his jaw and cheek, he opened the doors to her office with just a large a grin as he had downstairs. "Lottie I've done it! The Phosphor works! You have to see!"

Charlotte looked up from the document she was reading, her glasses resting on the edge of her nose. Her hard expression softened at the site of her husband in the doorway though her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Henry you didn't go to bed last night, you know that right?"

"Forgive me darling but when you see how this works you will have nothing to worry about. If this is truly done then I wouldn't need to work so hard on it and it'll be another invention in the complete bin!"

Charlotte sighed inwardly knowing how empty that bin was. Even if this invention worked as Henry said it would she doubted it would be long until a new idea popped into her husband's head and it will be more all nighters with tinkering and planning. "Alright then. Let's see your Phosphor at work dear."

"Here we go! Just watch the light on your desk glow brightly after I press this button here." Henry stepped closer to the desk before tapping his thumb against the button on the side of the black tube. They stared for a long minute at the lamp but it didn't seem to grow any better or even get dimmer. He pressed the button again, his eyebrows furrowing. "Blast it... I swear it worked just fine in the Crypt." The button was pressed repeatedly, Henry looking more and more desperate with each click.

When at last the light on the desk began to brighten, Henry's smile did as well. "Lottie see! Just a little more tinkering and it'll be-"

"Henry!" Charlotte shouted, jumping from her seat with wide eyes. "It's turning red!"

"What's turning- OH! OW! Hot!" Henry yelped, throwing the Phosphor onto the ground when it had started to glow red and shake. "Lottie duck!" In a quick second, Henry had moved behind the desk and pushed Charlotte down to the ground with him. Not long after, bits of pieces of the Phosphor flew about the room after a loud boom; the spot on the rug where Henry dropped was burned with a hole with dark black rippling out around it. The witchlight in Charlotte's lamp had also burst into tiny pieces that laid all over her papers, flew into her inkwell which tipped over and knocked over a number of pens and stacks of paper.

"Charlotte are you alright?" Henry asked, his hazel eyes wide and eyebrows raised high on his forehead. "I swear on the Angel that in the Crypt-"

"Henry," Charlotte interrupted, looking up at him from where she laid on the ground. "I'm alright. Now please go to the room to get some proper sleep. You must have dreamt that the Phosphor was working after spending so much time last night working on it."

His face dropped as well as his heart. He was used to everyone putting his inventions down but Charlotte had always supported him, saying how even if it didn't work one time that it would the next time for certain. She always had faith in him and Henry wasn't one to lie. "It really did work just this morning. My lantern-"

"Henry," she said again and he closed his mouth. "Not today. Now please go get some proper rest. I'm going to call Sophie in to clean the rug and start cleaning my desk. I know you didn't mean any harm and that it was an accident."

"I'm sorry about your desk. I can help-" Henry began as he started to get up from the floor and helped Charlotte to her feet with a simple pull of her hands with his.

"No dear. I can manage cleaning it on my own." Charlotte looked up at Henry and sighed at the jam on his face and the crumbs on his shirt and vest. At least it was a sign that he didn't forget to eat. She brushed the crumbs away to the floor and wiped the jam with her thumb, having to stand on her toes to do so. "Wash up and get some rest Henry. You work yourself too much. You're starting to look like a raccoon."

"Lottie it really did work... I'll get it working again I promise." He didn't flinch from her cleaning though scrunched his nose at her cleaning his face.

"Just not today dear." She rested her hands on his shoulders and started pushing him towards the door. Henry looked baffled the whole way there. "Come back once you're washed and rested. We'll talk later."

The last thing Henry saw before Charlotte closed the door in his face was a downward droop in her shoulders and facial features.

He stood there staring at the wooden door for a while, blinking as the wheels in his head turned and turned as he thought. He didn't understand why she looked so upset. This wasn't the first time Henry had spent all night in the lab nor the first time that one his inventions had gone wrong in her office. He hoped that she wasn't feeling unwell. He recalled William saying how even at breakfast she looked troubled. He couldn't remember is there were any problems with the Clave as of recently nor with the local Downworlders. Not being able to reach a conclusion as to his wife's upset state, he retreated back down to the Crypt to clean up from last night's work.

The witchlight in the lantern burned lowly, casting just enough light to keep the table lit and some of the surrounding area. Henry sighed as he picked up the blueprints for the Phosphor on top of the pile of other plans. Clearly something was wrong with this design, perhaps there was an earlier plan of his that could show where he went wrong. He flipped through the pile of paper, muttering the title on top of his page under his breath as he searched for what he wanted to find. "Portal notes, no. Sensor notes, no. Music box for Lottie, no. Automatic seraph blade cleaner, no. Oh by the Angel I- huh?" He went back to the page he had put to the back of the stack and read it over with wide eyes. On the top was written 'Music Box for Lottie' in big handwriting and underlined with a note attached to it saying to ask Jem for help with putting in the actual music and another saying to ask William to write a piece of romantic poetry. The blueprints were for a regular sized music box with a clean floor on the inside that showed the gears and inner workings as well as a little bird statue that spun as the music played. He had been so excited when he came up with the idea a week ago because of... their... "Anniversary..." Henry breathed and covered his eyes with a dust covered hand. How could he have been such a fool? No wonder Charlotte had been so upset. He didn't even go to bed with her that night!

"Oh- oh Angel. I'm sure if I make this quick enough she'll forgive me! Perhaps if I paint the top lid with runes of protection? Oh bloody hell and damn," he cursed as he cleared his workspace of anything that was unneeded and began rushing about the room to gather all the needed pieces including the box that he had started a week ago. "Oh where to begin. James! Jem! James Carstairs! Music for the music box- yes that is indeed the most important. He'll know what to do!" Fumbling over some of the tools he threw onto the floor, Henry bolted up the stairs out of the crypt, crying out, "James Carstairs! Oh Jem! I'm in dire need of your services!"


End file.
